October

PCAOB report on inspection issues

23 Oct 2007

The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has released a report on issues identified in the 2004 through 2006 inspections of US firms that audited 100 or fewer public companies.

This is a general report issued under the Board's Rule 4010 and does not identify any firm or firms. The report includes observations in 11 areas where auditing or quality-control deficiencies were observed:
  • Revenue
  • Related-Party Transactions
  • Equity Transactions
  • Business Combinations and Impairment of Assets
  • Going-Concern Considerations
  • Loans and Accounts Receivable (including allowance accounts)
  • Service Organizations
  • Use of Other Auditors
  • Use of the Work of Specialists
  • Independence
    • Prohibited Non-Audit Services
    • Indemnification
    • Firm Independence Policies and Procedures and Independence Confirmation with Audit Committees
  • Concurring Partner Review

Click for PCAOB Report

 

Update on adoption of IFRSs in Philippines

22 Oct 2007

We have modified our classification of the adoption of IFRS in Philippines in our table of Use of IFRSs by Jurisdiction.

In her presentation titled Conversion to IFRS: The Philippine Experience at the IASB's recent IFRS Conference in Singapore, Ms Fe Barin, Chairperson of the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission, explained that IFRSs have been modified in a number of ways when they were adopted as Philippines Financial Reporting Standards (PFRSs). Consequently, entities complying with PFRSs will not necessarily be complying with IFRSs as adopted by the IASB. The following table is based on Ms Barin's Presentation:

Where are we now? ('Transition relief'):

  • Reduced segment reporting disclosures
  • Exemption from applying tainting rule for a specific set of financial instruments
  • Commodity derivative contracts of mining companies as of 1 January 2005 'grandfathered'
  • Insurance companies allowed to use another comprehensive set of accounting principles (also described as Philippine Financial Reporting Standards)
  • For banks, losses from sale of non-performing assets allowed to be amortised over a period of time
  • Some additional changes to IASB's pension, foreign exchange, and leases Standards
Where do we want to be five years from now?
  • Philippines PFRSs = IFRSs
    • Eliminate transition relief unless provided in the standard itself
    • Philippine financial statements fully compliant with IFRSs
      • No need for IFRS conversion [reconciliation]
  • Financial reports 'at par with the best in the IFRS world'

Click for Use of IFRSs by Jurisdiction

 

 

Agenda for Advisory Council meeting 8-9 November 2007

22 Oct 2007

The International Accounting Standards Board will meet with the Standards Advisory Council at the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel, 252 High Holborn, London on Thursday and Friday 8-9 November 2007. The meeting is open to the public.

The tentative agenda is shown below.

sacagenda.gif

8-9 November 2007, London

Thursday 8 November 2007

  • Opening remarks
  • Session with Trustees
    • General update
    • The role of SAC members - ambassadors for IFRS
  • Discussion of IASB work programme and convergence
  • Financial statement presentation

Friday 9 November 2007

  • Agenda proposals
  • Fair value measurement (presentation and breakout sessions)
  • Revenue recognition
  • Insurance

 

Deloitte announces record financial performance worldwide

22 Oct 2007

We have posted the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu 2007 Worldwide Member Firms Review.

  • Aggregate member firm revenues increased by a record 15.5% in US dollars and 12.6% in local currencies, to US$23.1 billion for the financial year ended 31 May 2007. This marks Deloitte's fifth consecutive year of member firm double-digit revenue growth from continuing operations. Every service line and every geographic region delivered double-digit growth:
  • Financial advisory services increased 25.2% to US$1.89 billion; consulting and tax services each grew 16.5% to US$5.19 billion and US$4.98 billion respectively; and audit services grew by 13.1% to US$11.08 billion, with strong results in the core assurance services as well as enterprise risk services. Deloitte member firms also reported growth in each of the primary industry sectors.
  • The Asia Pacific region was the fastest growing in local currencies, increasing 17.2% to US$2.46 billion. The Europe-Mideast-Africa region grew 12.6% to US$9.18 billion and the Americas region grew by 11.9% to $11.49 billion.
  • Click for Press Release (PDF 47k); Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Worldwide Member Firms 2007 Review (PDF 4,778k)
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    IAASB exposure drafts on confirmations and use of experts

    22 Oct 2007

    The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has published the following two exposure drafts (EDs). Comment deadline on both EDs is 15 February 2008.

    Click for Press Release (PDF 103k):
    • Proposed ISA 505 (Revised and Redrafted) External Confirmations. Proposed ISA 505 addresses concerns about the use and reliability of external confirmations as audit evidence. External confirmations are written responses to the auditor from a third party. Proposed ISA 505 is directed at the effective performance of external confirmation procedures when the auditor determines that such procedures are an appropriate response to an assessed risk of material misstatement. Download the ED (PDF 183k).
    • Proposed ISA 620 (Revised and Redrafted) Using the Work of an Auditor's Expert. Proposed ISA 620 deals with the auditor's use of the work of a person or organisation possessing expertise in a field other than accounting or auditing, employed or engaged by the auditor to assist the auditor to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence. It places particular emphasis on the need for the auditor to evaluate the expert's objectivity, and to establish a proper understanding with the expert of the expert's responsibilities for the purposes of the audit. Download the ED (PDF 263k).

     

    Agenda for 1-2 November 2007 IFRIC meeting

    21 Oct 2007

    The International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) will meet at the IASB's offices in London on Thursday and Friday 1-2 November 2007. The meeting is open to the public and will be webcast.

    The tentative agenda is shown below.

    ifricagenda.gif

    1-2 November 2007, London Thursday 1 November 2007

    • Introduction
    • IAS 27 – Accounting for Distributions of Non-cash Assets to Owners
    • IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement – Two potential IFRIC agenda projects
      • Scope of IAS 39 paragraph 11A
      • Application of paragraph AG 33(d)(iii) of IAS 39
    • IAS 18 Revenue – Customer contributions The IFRIC will also consider a draft Interpretation prepared by the staff based on its discussions to date.
    • Review of Tentative Agenda Decisions published in September IFRIC Update
      • IAS 19 Employee Benefits Treatment of employee contributions
      • IAS 19 Employee Benefits Changes to a plan caused by government
      • IAS 19 Employee Benefits Death in service benefits
      The tentative agenda decisions and the comment letters received are available on the IASB Website.

     

    Friday 2 November 2007

    • Staff Recommendations for Tentative Agenda Decisions
      • IAS 19 Employee Benefits Pension – Promises based on performance hurdles How to measure a defined benefit obligation that is based, in part, on the employee or company meeting a performance hurdle
      • IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets – Deposits on returnable containers
      • IAS 23 Borrowing Costs – Foreign exchange differences associated with capitalisable borrowing costs a. To what extent should foreign exchange differences be regarded as an adjustment to interest costs? b. When an entity hedges its exposure to foreign exchange movements, to what extent should costs associated with the hedging instrument be considered to be part of the borrowing costs that may be capitalised?
      • IAS 19 Employee Benefits – Definition of plan assets How should insurance and investment policies issued to a pension plan by an entity that employs the staff included in the plan (or by a subsidiary that is consolidated in the same group as that entity) be considered in determining plan assets.
      • IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement – Scope of IAS 39 paragraph 2(g) Paragraph 2(g) exempts from the scope of IAS 39 'contracts between the acquirer and a vendor in a business combination to buy or sell an acquiree at a future date'. The project would consider several questions in applying this paragraph.
    • Administrative Session

     

     

    Notes from IASB October 2007 meeting days 3 and 4

    20 Oct 2007

    The International Accounting Standards Board helde its October 2007 meeting at the Board's offices, 30 Cannon Street, London, on Tuesday to Friday, 16-19 October 2007.

    Click here for the Preliminary and Unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers at the Meeting.
    The IASB and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board will hold a joint meeting at the FASB's offices in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA on Monday 22 October to Tuesday 23 October 2007.

     

    US SEC Commissioner comments on IFRSs

    20 Oct 2007

    At a conference earlier this week in Tokyo, US SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins addressed a number of issues relating to IFRSs including elimination of the required reconciliation to US GAAP for IFRS filers, consistent application of IFRSs, and possible use of IFRSs by US domestic companies.

    Click to download Commissioner Atkins's Remarks (PDF 82k). Here are several excerpts:

    Reconciliation. "Strong arguments can be made for the rapid elimination of the reconciliation requirement. Reconciliation is an additional cost for foreign private issuers registered in the United States. That cost is hard to justify. In the discussions at the SEC's IFRS roundtable earlier this year, we learned that the reconciliations are of limited use to those who look at financial statements."

    Consistent application. "The SEC is working with our fellow international securities regulators and accounting standard setting bodies to achieve the consistent application and interpretation of IFRS. The SEC staff, which receives IFRS filings from all over the world, is in an excellent position to spot potential issues, but it does not intend to become the arbiter of IFRS. I hope that if the rule is adopted and properly implemented, investors will benefit from the elimination of the costly reconciliation requirement, and businesses will be able to refocus their resources on more productive measures."

    Possible use of IFRSs by US companies. "As further evidence of the global nature of the capital markets, the SEC likely will consider whether to take the additional step of permitting U.S. companies to select between using U.S. GAAP and IFRS. You can easily see the utility of IFRS for multi-national American companies that access international capital markets and have foreign-based competitors. Last month, the SEC voted to issue a concept release on permitting U.S. issuers to file their financial statements using IFRS rather than U.S. GAAP. That would leave the choice between U.S. GAAP and IFRS to the markets. If investors prefer one set of accounting standards over another, they may well reward with premium pricing those issuers who use the preferred set."

     

    Our views on IFRIC D22

    20 Oct 2007

    Deloitte has submitted a letter of comments on IFRIC's Draft Interpretation D22 Hedges of a Net Investment in a Foreign Operation.

    We welcome guidance in the area of hedges of a net investment in a foreign operation (referred to as 'net investment hedging') as IAS 21 (and indirectly IAS 39) require clarification. We also welcome this draft interpretation as it deals with a number of net investment hedging issues as a consolidated package. An excerpt:

    We support the objective of the interpretation to remove the ambiguity in IAS 21 regarding whether the hedged risk is the difference between the functional currency of the foreign operation and the functional or presentation currency of the parent. We recognise the arguments both for and against that are included in the draft interpretation and on balance agree with the conclusion that the IFRIC has reached.

    We agree with the clarification that any parent entity within a group that has an interest in a foreign operation may apply net investment hedging. We believe the draft interpretation should be clearer as to whether designated net assets are either the net assets of individual foreign operations or net assets of a sub-consolidated foreign operation (ie a foreign operation that itself has investments in foreign operations and therefore converts its investments in foreign operations into its functional currency in determining a sub-consolidation). We believe both approaches are acceptable but we do not believe the draft interpretation is clear.

    Our major concern with the draft interpretation is the guidance on which entity within the group can hold the hedging instrument.

    Click for:

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